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171-743: The Hudson Line is a commuter rail line owned and operated by the Metro-North Railroad in the U.S. state of New York . It runs north from New York City along the east shore of the Hudson River , terminating at Poughkeepsie . The line was originally the Hudson River Railroad (and the Spuyten Duyvil and Port Morris Railroad south of Spuyten Duyvil ), and eventually became the Hudson Division of

342-565: A 60- to 65-story tower with an 18-story base, and space underneath for Park Avenue and 43rd Street to run through the building. Copies of Burnham's proposal no longer exist, but it followed the lines of the City Beautiful movement . The railroad ultimately chose the design offered by Reed and Stem, experienced railway-station designers who proposed vehicular viaducts around the terminal and ramps between its two-passenger levels. Warren and Wetmore were also selected to co-design

513-556: A car house, and a stable and horseshoeing shop for the horses that pulled Harlem Railroad carriages from 42nd Street to Madison Square. Vanderbilt developed a proposal to unite the three railroads at a single central station, replacing the separate and adjacent stations that created chaos in baggage transfer. The three lines would meet at Mott Haven, then run on the Harlem Railroad's tracks along Park Avenue in Manhattan to

684-458: A cost of $ 3 million, and opened in February 1930. In 1913 when the terminal opened, J. P. Carey leased 12 square feet (1.1 m ) and opened a shop adjacent to and one level below the terminal's waiting room (now Vanderbilt Hall). Carey's business expanded to include a barbershop, laundry service, shoe store, and haberdashery , all under the name J. P. Carey & Co. In 1921, Carey also ran

855-542: A durable stone to use on Grand Central's facade, and thus pillars made of a different varieties of stone were installed in the woods (now by the John Kieran Nature Trail, which opened in 1987 ).The variety eventually chosen was Indiana limestone . Meanwhile, Wilgus, who had been tapped to lead the project, started to figure out ways to build the new terminal efficiently. To prevent interrupting railroad service, he decided to demolish, excavate, and build

1026-479: A few miles in the Bronx there are only two or three tracks. Local service is usually provided by electric trains, while diesel trains run express. North of Croton–Harmon, the line is not electrified and is mostly double-tracked (with a few triple track areas); the stations are also spaced further apart. Service between Croton–Harmon and Poughkeepsie is provided by diesel trains; these generally run express and skip most of

1197-436: A law to ban all steam trains in Manhattan beginning on July 1, 1908. By December 1902, as part of an agreement with the city, New York Central agreed to put the approach to Grand Central Station from 46th to 59th Streets in an open cut under Park Avenue, and to upgrade the tracks to accommodate electric trains. Overpasses would be built across the open cut at most of the cross-streets. All this prompted Wilgus—who had become

1368-462: A limousine service using Packard cars, and in the 1930s, he added regular car and bus service to the city's airports as they opened. The businesses were very successful due to their location and show windows that Carey installed. Terminal shops were known to inflate prices, so the Carey businesses displayed affordable items with visible price tags in its show windows, as opposed to the norm of displaying

1539-413: A median strip that covered the railroad's ventilation grates, and renamed Park Avenue. Eight footbridges crossed the tracks between 45th and 56th streets; vehicles crossed on overpasses at 45th and 48th streets. Traffic at Grand Central Depot grew quickly, filling its 12 tracks to capacity by the mid-1880s, not the late 1890s or early 1900s as expected. In 1885, a seven-track annex with five platforms

1710-428: A new hub station at 42nd Street. By 1869, Vanderbilt had commissioned John B. Snook to design his new station, dubbed Grand Central Depot , on the site of the 42nd Street depot. The site was far outside the limits of the developed city at the time, and even Vanderbilt's backers warned against building the terminal in such an undeveloped area. Snook worked with engineers Isaac Buckhout and R.G. Buckfield to design

1881-617: A new station beneath the terminal, was completed in January 2023. Grand Central Terminal arose from a need to build a central station for the Hudson River Railroad , the New York and Harlem Railroad , and the New York and New Haven Railroad in what is now Midtown Manhattan. The Harlem Railroad was the first of these railroads to operate, having been incorporated in 1831. The railroad had been extended to Harlem , in upper Manhattan, by 1837. The first railroad structure of any kind on

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2052-450: A published timetable and use dedicated tracks (underground or elevated), whereas commuter rail often shares tracks, technology and the legal framework within mainline railway systems, and uses rolling stocks with more seating and higher speed for comfort on longer city-suburban journeys. However, the classification as a metro or rapid rail can be difficult as both may typically cover a metropolitan area exclusively, run on separate tracks in

2223-510: A schedule rather than fixed intervals, and fewer stations spaced further apart. They primarily serve lower density suburban areas (non inner-city), generally only having one or two stops in a city's central business district, and often share right-of-way with intercity or freight trains. Some services operate only during peak hours and others use fewer departures during off peak hours and weekends. Average speeds are high, often 50 km/h (30 mph) or higher. These higher speeds better serve

2394-471: A shallow open cut , while the segment between 56th and 97th streets, which was in a rock cut, would be covered over. The improvements were completed in 1874, allowing trains approaching Grand Central Depot from the north to descend into the Park Avenue Tunnel at 96th Street and continue underground into the new depot. As part of the project, Fourth Avenue was transformed into a boulevard with

2565-430: A southbound train overran signals in the smoky Park Avenue Tunnel and collided with another southbound train, killing 15 people and injuring more than 30 others. A week later, New York Central president William H. Newman announced that all of the railroad's suburban lines to Grand Central would be electrified, and the approach to the station would be put underground. The New York state legislature subsequently passed

2736-673: A speed nearly three times the maximum allowable speed of 30 miles per hour (48 km/h). The train's brakes were apparently operating normally and area tracks in proper condition. On November 13, 2018, the MTA announced its intent to purchase the Hudson and Harlem Lines as well as the Grand Central Terminal for up to $ 35.065 million, plus a discount rate of 6.25%. The purchase would include all inventory, operations, improvements, and maintenance associated with each asset, except for

2907-461: A study of the feasibility of electric trains. The building's construction started in 1903 and it was opened on February 2, 1913. The terminal continued to grow until after World War II, when train traffic started to decline. In the 1950s and 1970s, there were two separate proposals to demolish Grand Central, though both were unsuccessful. The terminal was given several official landmark designations during this period. Minor improvements occurred through

3078-408: A temporary station during construction. The construction project was enormous. About 3.2 million cubic yards (2,400,000 m ) of the ground were excavated at depths of up to 10 floors, with 1,000 cubic yards (760 m ) of debris being removed from the site daily. Over 10,000 workers were assigned to put 118,597 short tons (107,589 t) of steel and 33 miles (53 km) of track inside

3249-449: A terminal with separate levels for commuter and intercity railroads; a main concourse with ramps to the lower concourse and the IRT subway station ; an expansive waiting room; a hotel on Madison Avenue; and a viaduct surrounding the 12-story building above the station building. New York Central also planned to eliminate railroad crossings in the Bronx, as well as straighten out and add tracks to

3420-457: A time could be taken out of service. Despite the scale of the project, no pedestrians were hurt during construction. The first bite, which covered the area along Lexington Avenue, required the demolition of more than 200 buildings — and the eviction of hundreds of people from their homes — on a 17-acre (6.9 ha) plot of land bounded by Madison and Lexington avenues between 50th and 45th streets. O'Rourke soon fell behind schedule, and soon it

3591-552: A transfer to the IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line of the New York City Subway at the 225th Street station. A short curve away brings the trains to Spuyten Duyvil and its stairs to the street. Just past the station, the track rejoins the original Hudson River Railroad, shared with Amtrak , and after one more stop at Riverdale is out of New York City. The Palisades present themselves across

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3762-597: A whole declined slightly during the Great Depression . Regulations from the Interstate Commerce Commission and competition from automobile traffic were cited as factors in this decline. The railroad's finances were also put in danger because of the large amounts of debt incurred during the construction of Grand Central Terminal and Terminal City. New York Central's debt had grown from $ 299 million in 1911 to $ 377 million in 1914. By 1932,

3933-586: A wide variety of different features and service frequencies, but is often used in contrast to rapid transit or light rail . Some services share similarities with both commuter rail and high-frequency rapid transit ; examples include New Jersey Transit in the U.S., German S-Bahn in some cities, the Réseau Express Régional (RER) in Paris, the S Lines in Milan, many Japanese commuter systems,

4104-531: Is colored green on Metro-North timetables and system maps, and stations on the line have green trim. The New York Central used green color-coding for the Hudson Division as early as 1965. The Hudson River Railroad was chartered on May 12, 1846 to extend the Troy and Greenbush Railroad, which connected Troy and Albany, south to New York City along the east bank of the Hudson River . Service began on

4275-507: Is at the north property line of 42nd St (which is 200–300 feet south of the ends of the tracks). The Marble Hill Cutoff shortened the line by 0.73 miles (1.17 km) circa 1906, so Yonkers station (for example) is at milepost 15.24 but is about 14.46 miles (23.27 km) from the end of the tracks at GCT. The Hudson Line did not serve the stations in the Park Avenue tunnel . Commuter rail The term can refer to systems with

4446-935: Is especially the case for lines operated by Korail , such as the Gyeongui-Jungang Line , the Gyeongchun Line , the Suin-Bundang Line , or the Gyeonggang Line . Even some lines not operated by Korail, such as the AREX Line, the Seohae Line or the Shinbundang Line mostly function as commuter rail. Lastly, even for the "numbered lines" (1–9) of the Seoul Metropolitan Subway which mostly travel in

4617-603: Is heavily used by commuters in the Greater Tokyo Area , who commute between 100 and 200 km (62 and 124 mi) by Shinkansen . To meet the demand of commuters, JR sells commuter discount passes. Before 2021, they operated 16-car bilevel E4 Series Shinkansen trains at rush hour, providing a capacity of 1,600 seats. Several lines in China, such as the Beijing–Tianjin Intercity Railway and

4788-455: Is now Hudson Yards . When the city banned steam trains below 42nd Street c.  1857–1858 , the Harlem and New Haven Railroads' southern terminal was moved there. The Hudson River Railroad, meanwhile, was limited to the west side of Manhattan, away from the development that was concentrated on the east side. The business magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt , who operated steamboats along

4959-417: Is often a case of asset sweating , by using a single large combined fleet for intercity and regional services. Loco hauled services are usually run in push-pull formation, that is, the train can run with the locomotive at the "front" or "rear" of the train (pushing or pulling). Trains are often equipped with a control cab at the other end of the train from the locomotive, allowing the train operator to operate

5130-1963: Is one suburban rail called the Chittagong Circular Railway . Another suburban railway called the Dhaka Circular Railway is currently proposed. Karachi in Pakistan has a circular railway since 1969. Tehran Metro currently operates the Line 5 commuter line between Tehran and Karaj . Turkey has lines connecting Başkentray , İZBAN , Marmaray and Gaziray . Major metropolitan areas in most European countries are usually served by extensive commuter/suburban rail systems. Well-known examples include BG Voz in Belgrade (Serbia), S-Bahn in Germany, Austria and German-speaking areas of Switzerland, Proastiakos in Greece, RER in France and Belgium, Servizio ferroviario suburbano in Italy, Cercanías and Rodalies ( Catalonia ) in Spain, CP Urban Services in Portugal, Esko in Prague and Ostrava (Czech Republic), HÉV in Budapest (Hungary) and DART in Dublin (Ireland). London has multiple commuter rail routes: The Merseyrail network in Liverpool consists of two commuter rail routes powered by third rail, both of which branch out at one end. At

5301-470: Is operationally more like a typical metro system (frequent trains, an emphasis on standing passengers , short station spacings) than it is like commuter rail in other countries. Japanese commuter rail commonly interline with city center subway lines, with commuter rail trains continuing into the subway network, and then out onto different commuter rail systems on the other side of the city. Many Japanese commuter systems operate various stopping patterns to reduce

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5472-526: Is still possible to tell them apart. Some operators, for example Thameslink , focus solely on commuter services. Others, such as Avanti West Coast and LNER , run solely intercity services. Others still, such as GWR and EMR , run a mixture of commuter, regional and intercity services. Some of these operators use different branding for different types of service (for example EMR brands its trains as either "InterCity", "Connect" for London commuter services, and "Regional") but even for those operators that do not,

5643-579: Is used in Australia (Sydney for example) to describe the regional trains operating beyond the boundaries of the suburban services, even though some of these "inter-city" services stop all stations similar to German regional services. In this regard, the German service delineations and naming conventions are clearer and better used for academic purposes. Sometimes high-speed rail can serve daily use of commuters. The Japanese Shinkansen high speed rail system

5814-426: Is widely used in many commuter rail trains to increase capacity in rush hours. Carriages are usually not organized to increase seating capacity (although in some trains at least one carriage would feature more doors to facilitate easier boarding and alighting and bench seats so that they can be folded up during rush hour to provide more standing room) even in the case of commuting longer than 50 km and commuters in

5985-584: The 7 and <7> ​ trains, opened in 1915, two years after Grand Central Terminal's opening. The IRT Lexington Avenue Line platforms, served by the 4 , ​ 5 , ​ 6 , and <6> trains, opened in 1918. The Grand Central Art Galleries opened in the terminal in 1923. The space was operated by the Painters and Sculptors Gallery Association, founded by artists John Singer Sargent , Edmund Greacen , Walter Leighton Clark , and others. At its opening,

6156-491: The Bear Mountain Bridge abutment. Putnam County 's first station, Manitou , serves a small hamlet. Just north of Garrison , there is another tunnel and then a view of the stone buildings of West Point ; the riverside village of Cold Spring is the next stop, last in the county. The Dutchess County line is crossed in a pair of 842-foot (257 m) tunnels under Breakneck Ridge at Breakneck Point; across

6327-769: The Chennai MRTS , also covers over 300 stations and carries more than 2.5 million people daily to different areas in Chennai and its surroundings. Other commuter railways in India include the Hyderabad MMTS , Delhi Suburban Railway , Pune Suburban Railway and Lucknow-Kanpur Suburban Railway . In 2020, Government of India approved Bengaluru Suburban Railway to connect Bengaluru and its suburbs. It will be unique and first of its kind in India as it will have metro like facilities and rolling stock. In Bangladesh, there

6498-610: The Chrysler Building ; luxury apartment houses along Park Avenue; and an array of high-end hotels. The Commodore Hotel , built on the east side of Grand Central Terminal, was opened in 1919. Terminal City was mostly complete by the late 1920s with the completion of the Graybar Building in 1927 and the Helmsley Building in 1929. The development of Terminal City also included the construction of

6669-804: The East Rail line in Hong Kong, and some Australasian suburban networks, such as Sydney Trains . Many commuter rail systems share tracks with other passenger services and freight . In North America, commuter rail sometimes refers only to systems that primarily operate during rush hour and offer little to no service for the rest of the day, with regional rail being used to refer to systems that offer all-day service. Most commuter (or suburban) trains are built to main line rail standards, differing from light rail or rapid transit (metro rail) systems by: Compared to rapid transit (or metro rail), commuter/suburban rail often has lower frequency , following

6840-681: The Empire Connection , a segment of track owned by Amtrak . This segment currently used by Amtrak's Empire Corridor trains to access Penn Station, diverges from the Hudson Line between Riverdale and Spuyten Duyvil stations. The proposal includes the construction of two new Hudson Line stations along the Empire Connection in Manhattan; one near 125th Street in Manhattanville and the other near 62nd Street on

7011-528: The Greater Tokyo Area , Seoul metropolitan area , and Jabodetabek area have to stand in the train for more than an hour. Currently there are not many examples of commuter rail in Africa . Metrorail operates in the major cities of South Africa , and there are some commuter rail services in Algeria , Botswana , Kenya , Morocco , Egypt and Tunisia . In Algeria, SNTF operates commuter rail lines between

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7182-845: The Guangshen Railway have more frequent metro-like service. The two MTR lines which are owned and formerly operated by the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation ( East Rail line and Tuen Ma line which is integrated from the former West Rail line and Ma On Shan line in 2021), then the "KCR" ), and MTR's own Tung Chung line connect the new towns in New Territories and the city centre Kowloon together with frequent intervals, and some New Territories-bound trains terminate at intermediate stations, providing more frequent services in Kowloon and

7353-605: The Harlem River , the Hudson Line departs from the track shared with the Harlem and New Haven Lines , passing first Yankees–East 153rd Street , which offers access to the lower Bronx and Yankee Stadium . After it is the employee-only Highbridge stop as it follows the river northward and, at first, the Major Deegan Expressway . Marble Hill , technically in Manhattan despite being on the mainland, offers

7524-585: The Jakarta city center with surrounding cities and sub-urbans in Banten and West Java provinces, including Depok , Bogor , Tangerang , Serpong , Rangkasbitung , Bekasi and Cikarang . In July 2015, KRL Commuterline served more than 850,000 passengers per day, which is almost triple of the 2011 figures, but still less than 3.5% of all Jabodetabek commutes. Other commuter rail systems in Indonesia include

7695-1023: The Metro Surabaya Commuter Line , Commuter Line Bandung , KAI Commuter Yogyakarta–Solo Line , Kedung Sepur , and the Sri Lelawangsa . In the Philippines, the Philippine National Railways has two commuter rail systems currently operational; the PNR Metro Commuter Line in the Greater Manila Area and the PNR Bicol Commuter in the Bicol Region . A new commuter rail line in Metro Manila,

7866-567: The New York Central Railroad . It runs along what was the far southern leg of the Central's famed "Water Level Route" to Chicago . Croton–Harmon station divides the line into two distinct segments. South of there, the line is electrified with third rail , serving suburban stations located relatively close together. Most of the electrified zone has four tracks, usually two express and local tracks in each direction. For

8037-720: The New York City Rapid Transit Commission was planning to give the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) the right to construct an underground subway route around Grand Central Station, which would preempt New York Central's rights to build underground. Wilgus' letter also proposed replacing the two-year-old station with a new two-level electric train terminal, which would allow a larger yard to be built. The terminal would include balloon loops to allow trains to turn around without changing direction. To offset

8208-616: The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad 's red-black-white palette can be seen as equipment on the line is pooled with ConnDOT , whose red-striped passenger coaches are also in wide use on the Hudson Line. The Metro-North-owned Genesis units received a new paint scheme in 2007. As part of the Penn Station Access project, the MTA has proposed to send some Hudson Line trains to Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan . Hudson Line trains would access Penn Station via

8379-405: The North–South Commuter Railway , is currently under construction. Its North section is set to be partially opened by 2021. In Malaysia, there are two commuter services operated by Keretapi Tanah Melayu . They are the KTM Komuter that serves Kuala Lumpur and the surrounding Klang Valley area , and the KTM Komuter Northern Sector that serves Greater Penang , Perak , Kedah and Perlis in

8550-419: The Park Avenue Tunnel . Turning the locomotives around at either end of the line would be cumbersome and time-consuming, so trains use push-pull operation with the locomotive usually on the north end of the train. They usually pull/push six or seven Shoreliner passenger cars with a cab car at the south end of the train. The Genesis locomotives are mostly in Metro-North's silver-and-blue livery, but sometimes

8721-403: The Park Avenue Viaduct , surrounding the station; one leg of the viaduct opened in 1919, and another part of the viaduct opened in 1928. The electrification of the commuter lines and subsequent completion of Grand Central Terminal contributed to the development of affluent suburbs in the lower Hudson Valley and southwestern Connecticut. This trend had been observed as early as 1907, following

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8892-528: The Shanghai–Nanjing High-Speed Railway , serve a similar role with many more under construction or planned. In South Korea, some sections of the high-speed rail network are also heavily used by commuters, such as the section between Gwangmyeong Station and Seoul Station on the KTX network ( Gyeongbu HSR Line ), or the section between Dongtan Station and Suseo station on the SRT Line. The high-speed services linking Zürich , Bern and Basel in Switzerland (200 km/h (120 mph)) have brought

9063-409: The Spuyten Duyvil and Port Morris Railroad . Concurrently, the Harlem Railroad expanded in the area around the 42nd Street depot, which at the time was still sparsely developed. By the mid-1860s, the railroad owned 11 parcels bounded by 42nd and 48th streets on either side of Fourth Avenue, between Lexington Avenue and Madison Avenue . The structures on these parcels included two locomotive sheds,

9234-424: The Underground and the Overground , Elizabeth line , Thameslink along with other commuter rail operators , Madrid's Metro and Cercanías , Barcelona's Metro and Rodalies , and Tokyo's subway and the JR lines along with various privately owned and operated commuter rail systems. Regional rail usually provides rail services between towns and cities, rather than purely linking major population hubs in

9405-616: The Upper West Side . The project would give Hudson Line riders a direct ride to destinations on the West Side. Since the tracks continue north of Poughkeepsie, there have been various proposals over the years from both the MTA (Metro-North's parent agency) and Amtrak , to extend service northwards. New York Central and Penn Central operated rail service north of Poughkeepsie to Albany-Rensselaer until April 30, 1971; since then, only Amtrak's intercity trains continue beyond Poughkeepsie. Most proposals have been scratched after strong opposition from residents of northern Dutchess County , who fear

9576-413: The West Side Station on Chambers Street (used until 1916). Passenger service on this line, which became known as the 30th Street Branch, continued until late 1929 or early 1930. The New York Central operated many intercity and commuter trains over this line for many years. It was a key route in connecting Grand Central Terminal in New York to LaSalle Street Station in Chicago . Commuter service

9747-426: The Yamanote Line , Keihin Tohoku Line , Chūō–Sōbu Line services arguably are more akin to rapid transit with frequent stops, simple stopping patterns (relative to other JR East lines) no branching services and largely serving the inner suburbs; other services along the Chūō Rapid Line , Sōbu Rapid Line / Yokosuka Line , Ueno–Tokyo Line , Shōnan–Shinjuku Line etc. are mid-distance services from suburban lines in

9918-513: The 1970s and 1980s, followed by an extensive rehabilitation in the mid- and late 1990s. From 1913 to 1991, Grand Central was also a major intercity terminal. In its latter years as an intercity station, all trains traveling along Amtrak 's Empire Corridor —the former main line of the New York Central—originated and terminated at Grand Central. In 1991, Amtrak consolidated its New York City services at nearby Penn Station . The East Side Access project, which brought Long Island Rail Road service to

10089-402: The 300 km/h (186 mph) Nuremberg–Ingolstadt high-speed railway . The regional trains Stockholm – Uppsala , Stockholm– Västerås , Stockholm– Eskilstuna and Gothenburg – Trollhättan in Sweden reach 200 km/h (120 mph) and have many daily commuters. In Great Britain , the HS1 domestic services between London and Ashford runs at a top speed of 225 km/h, and in peak hours

10260-448: The Central Business Districts (CBDs) of these three cities within 1 hour of each other. This has resulted in unexpectedly high demand for new commuter trips between the three cities and a corresponding increase in suburban rail passengers accessing the high-speed services at the main city-centre stations ( Hauptbahnhof ). The Regional-Express commuter service between Munich and Nuremberg in Germany runs at 200 km/h (120 mph) on

10431-402: The East Rail Line share tracks with intercity trains to mainland China . The three KCR lines are integrated into the MTR network since 2008 and most passengers do not need to exit and re-enter the system through separate fare gates and purchase separate tickets to transfer between such lines and the rest of the network (the exceptions are between the Tuen Ma line's East Tsim Sha Tsui station and

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10602-407: The Galleries extended over most of the terminal's sixth floor, 15,000 square feet (1,400 m ), and offered eight main exhibition rooms, a foyer gallery, and a reception area. The official opening on March 22, 1923, was attended by 5,000 people. A year after it opened, the galleries established the Grand Central School of Art , which occupied 7,000 square feet (650 m ) on the seventh floor of

10773-405: The Harlem and Hudson Division. The first electric train departed for the temporary Grand Central Station , from the Harlem Division's Highbridge station in the Bronx, on September 30, 1906. Electrification would eventually extend to Croton–Harmon station . The former main line south of Spuyten Duyvil remained for freight to the docks along Manhattan's west side and minimal passenger service to

10944-443: The Hudson Division. Excavations were only performed if there were available tracks to accommodate the work trains. Although construction continued around the clock, workers often halted every few minutes to allow trains to pass, and a smaller crew worked during the day than in the night. In addition, since Grand Central Station saw 800 trains per day, rock-blasting for excavation could only be performed at night, and only one track at

11115-440: The Hudson Line, plus special service from the Hudson, Harlem, and New Haven Lines for New York Yankees games. On December 1, 2013, a southbound train derailed near the Spuyten Duyvil station in the Bronx. Four people were killed and more than 60 passengers were injured in the crash. Federal investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board determined that the train was traveling at 82 miles per hour (132 km/h),

11286-433: The Hudson Line, south of Spuyten Duyvil, is not parallel to the Hudson River . Much of the line in the Bronx parallels the Harlem River , while the entirety of the line in Manhattan follows Park Avenue . North of Spuyten Duyvil, the Hudson Line travels mostly parallel to the river (viewable on the left side northbound and the right side southbound) until the line terminates in Poughkeepsie. Once past 125th Street and over

11457-501: The Hudson River, started buying the Harlem Railroad's stock in 1863. By the next year, he also controlled the Hudson River Railroad. Vanderbilt attempted to get permission to merge the railroads in 1864, but Daniel Drew , a one-time competitor in the steamboat industry, bribed state legislators to scuttle the proposal. Drew unsuccessfully attempted to short-sell Harlem and New York Central stock, and Vanderbilt made large profits after buying stock in both companies. Vanderbilt became

11628-450: The Hudson line until it was folded into Conrail on April 1, 1976. Conrail continued to operate commuter service to Poughkeepsie & freight service north of Poughkeepsie (while, Amtrak's Empire Service continued to Albany and beyond). On July 1, 1973, along with several other stations in Penn Central's Metropolitan Region, the 138th Street , Oscawana and Manitou stops were closed. Manitou reopened in 1983. On September 10, 1974,

11799-560: The MTA announced that work would start on the construction of high-level platforms at eleven stations in the Bronx and Manhattan including at the Marble Hill , Spuyten Duyvil , University Heights , Morris Heights and Riverdale stations on the Hudson Line. The entire project cost $ 2.8 million. The work was expected to be completed in the late summer of 1975. As part of the work, the University Heights, Morris Heights and Marble Hill stations had island platforms installed, while side platforms were installed at Riverdale and Spuyten Duyvil. All of

11970-450: The MTA planned to remove one of the four tracks on the line. The MTA expected that the change would provide more flexible train service as the line would have received a computerized system capable of running trains in either direction on the three tracks. As part of the plan, trains would have received cab signalling . The change was expected to be completed in three to four years. The New York State DOT and Amtrak were strongly opposed to

12141-433: The Netherlands carry many commuters, while their equipment, range, and speeds are similar to those of commuter trains in some larger countries. The United Kingdom has a privatised rail system, with different routes and services covered by different private operators. The distinction between commuter and intercity rail is not as clear as it was before privatisation (when InterCity existed as a brand of its own), but usually it

12312-636: The New Haven Railroad arrived on October 16; and the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad on November 1, eight days later than planned. The terminal consisted of a three-story head house as well as a train shed to the north and east of the head house. The head house was an L-shaped structure with a short leg running east–west on 42nd Street and a long leg running north–south on Vanderbilt Avenue. It contained passenger service areas at ground level and railroad offices on

12483-471: The New York Central and Hudson River Railroad, which was renamed the New York Central Railroad in 1914. One of the properties owned by the New York and Harlem was the Spuyten Duyvil and Port Morris Railroad . This railroad was built in 1842, and bought in 1853 by the New York and Harlem as part of a proposal by NY&H Vice President Gouverneur Morris Jr. to integrate it into a new industrial section of

12654-702: The Town of Poughkeepsie and a station closed in the NYCRR days but eventually reopened. The last 8.5 miles (13.7 km) to Poughkeepsie's recently renovated station, including the vast Tilcon quarry , is the longest distance between any two stations on a Metro-North main line. Electric service from and to Croton–Harmon uses the standard M3A and M7A multiple units also seen on the Metro-North Harlem Line . Diesel trains are headed by Genesis P32AC-DMs . These electro-diesels run off third-rail through

12825-764: The Tsuen Wan line's Tsim Sha Tsui station . In Taiwan, the Western line in the Taipei - Taoyuan Metropolitan Area, Taichung Metropolitan Area and Tainan - Kaohsiung Metropolitan Area as well as the Neiwan - Liujia line in the Hsinchu Area are considered commuter rail. In South Korea, the Seoul Metropolitan Subway includes a total of 22 lines, and some of its lines are suburban lines. This

12996-460: The U.S. to measure up to those in Europe. Construction started on September 1, 1869, and the depot was completed by October 1871. The project included the creation of Vanderbilt Avenue , a service road along the depot's western border. To reduce confusion, the railroads staggered their inaugural runs to the new station. The Harlem Railroad switched from its Madison Square depot on October 9, 1871;

13167-464: The US and Melbourne and Adelaide in Australia, use broad gauge track. Metro rail and rapid transit usually cover smaller inner-urban areas within 12 to 20 km (7 to 12 mi) of city centers, with shorter stop spacing, use rolling stocks with larger standing spaces, lower top speed and higher acceleration, designed for short-distance travel. They also run more frequently, to a headway rather than

13338-541: The United States, and thus additional ticket offices were opened. Mary Lee Read, an organist playing in the terminal from 1928 to the late 1950s, brought commuter traffic to a standstill during the war while playing the U.S. national anthem, and was subsequently asked by the stationmaster not to play the anthem and delay commuters. Also during the war, retired employees rejoined the terminal's staff, and women first began being trained as ticket agents, both to make up for

13509-466: The Villages of Tivoli and Rhinebeck passed resolutions against the study. The study was not done because of significant opposition. However, Poughkeepsie-area commuters have supported such plans since they would ease pressure on that station. As recently as January 2007, supervisors of some towns north of Poughkeepsie have expressed new interest in extending rail service. Milepost Zero on the Hudson Line

13680-804: The air rights of Grand Central Terminal ; the Pennsylvania Railroad had done the same thing to Penn Station . However, this approval was denied, and the denial was affirmed in Penn Central Transportation Co. v. New York City , a 1978 decision by the United States Supreme Court . On May 1, 1971, the National Railroad Passenger Corporation took over all intercity passenger service in the US. Penn Central continued to operate freight and commuter service along

13851-448: The air rights over Grand Central. At the time, the Hudson and Harlem Lines were owned by Argent Ventures , a holding company that had taken possession of Penn Central's assets upon its bankruptcy, while the Grand Central Terminal was owned by Midtown TDR Ventures. Under the terms of the leases for each asset, the MTA would only be able to exercise an option to purchase the three assets before October 2019. The MTA's finance committee approved

14022-464: The building, The design also incorporated air rights above the tracks, as had Wilgus's original proposal. Nepotism may have played a role in the selection of Reed & Stem—one partner, Charles A. Reed, was Wilgus's brother-in-law, and the official reason for their selection was that Reed & Stem's plan contained "an elevated driveway around the Terminal". Family ties definitely accounted for

14193-519: The building. They installed ramps of different angles and watched as people of a variety of ages, heights, and weights walked up and down them, in unblinded and blind trials . The incline chosen was 8 degrees, reportedly gentle enough for a child to toddle from a train to 42nd Street. One additional test took place in Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, where 13 stone pillars were erected and allowed to weather. The architects wanted to choose

14364-767: The canal in Marble Hill, Manhattan . Part of the original segment around Marble Hill became a freight spur leading to the Kingsbridge Freight Station, but the track around the northern and western sides of Marble Hill was later removed and no trace of it exists. Today, the realigned line serves as the segment of the Metro-North Railroad Hudson Line between Mott Haven Junction and the West Side Line . The former Kingsbridge Freight Spur and station has been occupied by

14535-515: The capital Algiers and its southern and eastern suburbs. They also serve to connect Algiers ' main universities to each other. The Dar es Salaam commuter rail offers intracity services in Dar es Salaam , Tanzania. In Botswana, the ( Botswana Railways ) "BR Express" has a commuter train between Lobatse and Gaborone . In Japan, commuter rail systems have extensive network and frequent service and are heavily used. In many cases, Japanese commuter rail

14706-522: The centre, and often feature purpose-built rolling stock. The fact that the terminology is not standardised across countries (even across English-speaking countries) further complicates matters. This distinction is most easily made when there are two (or more) systems such as New York's subway and the LIRR and Metro-North Railroad , Paris' Métro and RER along with Transilien , Washington D.C.'s Metro along with its MARC and VRE , London's tube lines of

14877-489: The completion of electrification. Well-to-do passengers were likely to travel to destinations served by electric trains that ran directly from Grand Central, such as Greenwich or Larchmont , while less wealthy passengers were likely to get off at stops that were further away, such as Stamford or New Rochelle . New York Central promoted new private suburban developments through its “Four-Track Series" magazine. Following Grand Central Terminal's completion, traffic to and from

15048-550: The completion of the final segment between Tivoli and Poughkeepsie, linking the two pieces of the line together. Prior to completion, on June 1, the Hudson River leased the Troy and Greenbush. Cornelius Vanderbilt purchased the Hudson River Railroad in 1864, soon after he bought the parallel New York and Harlem Railroad , which is today's Harlem Line . He merged these and other short line railroads to form

15219-415: The construction of Depew Place, a marginal road on the east side of the annex named for longtime Vanderbilt lawyer Chauncey Depew and meant to complement Vanderbilt Avenue on the station's west side. The train yards were also expanded, and various maintenance sheds were moved to Mott Haven. Grand Central Depot reached its capacity again by 1897, when it saw 11.5 million passengers a year. To accommodate

15390-600: The construction of Grand Central Terminal alone was expected to cost $ 100 million. The New York Central Railroad tested third-rail-powered electric trains in 1904, using a fleet of new MU Sprague-GE cars from the General Electric Company , and found that their speeds were adequate for service into Grand Central. Over the next few years, the New York Central and New Haven Railroads electrified their tracks, allowing trains to enter Grand Central Terminal upon its completion. The first electric train departed for

15561-438: The costs of construction and of acquiring the expensive new land that would be required—Grand Central proper only covered three blocks—he proposed to superimpose over the terminal a 12-story, 2,300,000-square-foot (210,000 m ) building whose rents would bring in gross annual income of either $ 1.35 million or $ 2.3 million. In March 1903, Wilgus presented a more detailed proposal to the New York Central board, describing

15732-523: The crowds, the railroads expanded the head house from three to six stories, enlarged the concourse at a cost of $ 2.5 million to connect the three railroads' separate waiting rooms, and increased the combined areas of the waiting rooms from 12,000 to 28,000 square feet (1,100 to 2,600 m ). Foyers were added to the west, south, and east sides of the station; women's waiting rooms, smoking rooms, and restrooms were also added. The tracks that previously continued south of 42nd Street were removed. The train yard

15903-521: The decision to hire Warren and Wetmore as co-designers: Cornelius Vanderbilt's grandson William insisted upon employing the firm co-founded by his cousin Whitney Warren . Warren was an alumnus of the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts , which influenced his final design for the building. The two firms entered an agreement to act as the associated architects of Grand Central Terminal in February 1904. Reed and Stem were responsible for

16074-666: The dense parts of Seoul, some track sections extend far outside of the city, and operate large sections at ground level, such as on the Line 1 , Line 3 and Line 4 . In Busan, the Donghae Line , while part of the Busan Metro system, mostly functions as a commuter rail line. In Indonesia , the KRL Commuterline is the largest commuter rail system in the country, serving the Greater Jakarta . It connects

16245-576: The east wing of the terminal. The school was directed by Sargent and Daniel Chester French . The Grand Central School of Art remained in the east wing until 1944. In 1958, the Grand Central Art Galleries moved out of the terminal, to the Biltmore Hotel . A power and heating plant had been built in conjunction with the terminal, on the east side of Park Avenue between 49th and 50th streets. The plant provided power to

16416-468: The effect that an easy rail commute to midtown Manhattan would have on their still largely rural communities. In 1999, Metro-North proposed to extend the line 25 miles (40 km) to Tivoli or just 15 miles (24 km) to Rhinecliff . Three new stations would have been built – at Tivoli, Staatsburg and Hyde Park – while the terminus at Rhinecliff would have received commuter service in addition to Amtrak service. Parking facilities would have been built at

16587-732: The end of World War II , private rail service began a sharp decline with the start of the Jet Age and the construction of the Interstate Highway System . NYC, facing declining year-over-year profits, merged in 1968 with its former rival, the Pennsylvania Railroad , forming the Penn Central Transportation Company . Penn Central continued to lose money and attempted several maneuvers to delay bankruptcy, including auctioning off

16758-570: The final structure. The excavation produced too much spoil for horse-drawn wagons, which at the time could carry 3 or 4 cubic yards (2.3 or 3.1 m ) apiece, so a 0.5-mile-long (0.80 km), 6-foot-wide (1.8 m) drainage tube was sunk 65 feet (20 m) under the ground to the East River. O'Rourke also carried waste away by train, using hopper cars to transport rock and earth to a landfill in Croton-on-Hudson, New York , via

16929-409: The first Madison Square Garden . The New Haven Railroad was chartered in 1849 and had trackage rights to operate on the Harlem Railroad's tracks from Wakefield, Bronx , to Manhattan. The Hudson River Railroad did not have any trackage rights with the Harlem Railroad, so it ran in Manhattan separately along what would become the West Side Line , terminating at Tenth Avenue and 30th Street in what

17100-489: The first 41 miles (66 km) of the line from Chambers Street and Hudson Street in Lower Manhattan to Peekskill on September 29, 1849. Service was extended to New Hamburg on December 6 and to Poughkeepsie on December 31. A separate section opened between East Albany and Hudson on June 16, 1851. This section was extended to Oakhill on July 7 and to Tivoli on August 4. The full line opened on October 8, 1851 with

17271-471: The former BR 's Regional Railways , France's TER ( Transport express régional ), Germany's Regionalexpress and Regionalbahn , and South Korea's Tonggeun and Mugunghwa-ho services. In some European countries, the distinction between commuter trains and long-distance/intercity trains is subtle, due to the relatively short distances involved. For example, so-called " intercity " trains in Belgium and

17442-556: The grounds of the John F. Kennedy High School since the 1970s. The New York and Putnam Railroad spur remained until 1999. As part of the construction of Grand Central Terminal in the early 1900s, all of New York Central's lines that ran into the terminal were electrified. Third rail was installed on the Hudson and Harlem Divisions, while the New Haven Division received overhead wires on the segments that were not shared with

17613-587: The inevitable replacement known as the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge . Rockland County fades to almost three miles (4.8 km) away across Haverstraw Bay . But after passing through Sing Sing prison, the train reaches Ossining , where a ferry brings travelers across the wide river to Haverstraw . Electric trains end their runs one stop beyond, at Croton–Harmon , a terminal shared again with Amtrak just south of Harmon Yard and east of Croton Point . The tracks veer inland, closely following US 9 , to

17784-789: The inner parts of the network. Most such trains run on the local standard gauge track. Some systems may run on a narrower or broader gauge. Examples of narrow gauge systems are found in Japan, Indonesia , Malaysia , Thailand , Taiwan, Switzerland, in the Brisbane ( Queensland Rail 's City network ) and Perth ( Transperth ) systems in Australia, in some systems in Sweden, and on the Genoa-Casella line in Italy. Some countries and regions, including Finland , India, Pakistan, Russia , Brazil and Sri Lanka, as well as San Francisco ( BART ) in

17955-524: The late 1890s and early 1900s, so did the problems of smoke and soot produced by steam locomotives in the Park Avenue Tunnel, the only approach to the station. In 1899, William J. Wilgus , the New York Central's chief engineer, proposed electrifying the lines leading to the station, using a third rail power system devised by Frank J. Sprague . Railroad executives approved the plan, but shelved it as too expensive. On January 8, 1902,

18126-628: The late 1970s, the Hudson Line's former northbound express track between Spuyten Duyvil and its merger with the Harlem Line was removed. The stations along the line between Spuyten Duyvil and Yankees–East 153rd Street were rebuilt on top of this track's roadbed. In 1983, the MTA Metro-North Railroad took control of all commuter operations in the Hudson Valley. As part of the MTA's five-year capital program in 1982,

18297-586: The longer distances involved. Some services include express services which skip some stations in order to run faster and separate longer distance riders from short-distance ones. The general range of commuter trains' travel distance varies between 15 and 200 km (10 and 125 miles), but longer distances can be covered when the trains run between two or several cities (e.g. S-Bahn in the Ruhr area of Germany). Distances between stations may vary, but are usually much longer than those of urban rail systems. In city centres

18468-402: The lower stations. From just north of Spuyten Duyvil to the end of the line, the Hudson Line forms the southern portion of Amtrak 's Empire Corridor , the former main line of the Central. The planned Penn Station Access project would send some Hudson Line trains to Penn Station along the Empire Connection , with two new intermediate stops along the west side of Manhattan. The Hudson Line

18639-426: The magnate Cornelius "Commodore" Vanderbilt created Grand Central Depot for the New York Central & Hudson River, New York and Harlem Railroad , and New Haven railroads. Due to rapid growth, the depot was reconstructed and renamed Grand Central Station by 1900. The current structure, designed by the firms Reed and Stem and Warren and Wetmore , was built after a 1902 crash between two steam trains had prompted

18810-462: The modern-day site of Grand Central Terminal was a maintenance shed for the Harlem Railroad, built c. 1837 on the west side of Fourth Avenue between 42nd and 43rd streets. Since the Harlem Railroad had the exclusive right to operate along the east side of Manhattan south of the Harlem River , it originally ran as a steam railroad on street level along Fourth (now Park) Avenue . After the passage of laws prohibiting steam trains in Lower Manhattan,

18981-446: The most expensive and luxury items. Carey would store his merchandise in an unfinished, underground two-story section of the terminal, which railroad employees and maintenance staff began calling "Carey's Hole". The name has remained even as the space has been used for different purposes, including currently as a lounge and dormitory for railroad employees. During World War II , the terminal became heavily used by troops moving across

19152-560: The need for ultra-strong columns to support the upper level. The upper level was covered over in 1910. The second and third bites were harder to construct than the first bite, as these were located over the most active sections of track on the west and center sides of Grand Central. North of the station site, Park Avenue and surrounding streets were raised onto bridges above the tracks. The first and second bites had been completed by 1910. The last train left Grand Central Station at midnight on June 5, 1910, and workers promptly began demolishing

19323-478: The new Grand Central Depot via that line along the northeast bank of the Harlem River and the New York and Harlem Rail Road, also part of the New York Central system. In 1893, a third track was added along the line between Spuyten Duyvil and Sing Sing. This line was rebuilt and realigned in 1905–1906 when the Harlem River Ship Canal was built. The line was realigned along the north side of

19494-438: The new Grand Central Terminal's architecture to match the grand design of Penn Station. In 1903, New York Central invited four well-known firms and architects to compete for the job: Daniel H. Burnham ; McKim, Mead & White; Reed and Stem ; and Samuel Huckel Jr. All four proposed a station topped by a tower, though Huckel did not seem to have participated significantly in the competition. McKim, Mead & White suggested

19665-411: The new platforms on the Hudson Line were formally put into service. The completion was marked with a ceremony with the head of the MTA, David Yunich present. The completion of these five stations marked the completion of a $ 22.8 million project to install high-level platforms at 43 Penn Central stations. The high-level platforms allowed the new Metropolitan and Cosmopolitan to use the stations. During

19836-626: The new station. The building was nearly finished by this point, although some additions would take place later, including the installation of Glory of Commerce in 1914. The terminal spurred development in the surrounding area, particularly in Terminal City , a commercial and office district created above where the tracks were covered. Land values along Park Avenue and in Terminal City more than tripled from 1904 to 1926. Terminal City would eventually include office buildings such as

20007-822: The new terminal increased considerably. In the fiscal year ending June 30, 1913, Grand Central handled 22.4 million passengers. By 1920, a total of 37 million passengers used the station. However, Grand Central was not the most-used station in New York City after 1919, because Penn Station consistently saw more passengers than Grand Central. Even so, Grand Central's development led to the rapid growth of New York City's northern suburbs. The Bronx's population nearly quadrupled between 1900 and 1920, while Westchester's population more than doubled. In 1918, flags were hung in Grand Central Terminal, honoring railroad employees who were fighting in World War I . One flag read 4,976 for

20178-490: The new terminal proved problematic. Accidents began immediately at the grade crossings along Fourth Avenue from 42nd and 59th streets; seven people died within 12 days of the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad's move to Grand Central. The following year, in 1872, Vanderbilt proposed the Fourth Avenue Improvement Project. The tracks between 48th and 56th streets were to be moved into

20349-513: The next and newest stop, Cortlandt , the only non-New York City station on the line where the Hudson River cannot be seen. The Hudson River reappears at Peekskill , the last stop in the county, where the Bear Mountain Bridge can be seen to the north. North of Peekskill the river narrows as the Hudson Highlands begin. Dunderberg and Bear mountains can be seen across the river. The train passes through two short tunnels, one under

20520-473: The north end of the station. The structure measured 695 feet (212 m) along Vanderbilt Avenue and 530 feet (160 m) along 42nd Street. It was considered the largest railroad station in the world, with 12 tracks that could accommodate 150 train cars at once. It also had the largest interior space in North America. The storage yard stretched north to 58th Street. Because of the complexity of

20691-973: The northern region of Peninsular Malaysia. In Thailand, the Greater Bangkok Commuter rail and the Airport Rail Link serve the Bangkok Metropolitan Region . The SRT Red Lines , a new commuter line in Bangkok, started construction in 2009. It opened in 2021. Another commuter rail system in Southeast Asia is the Yangon Circular Railway in Myanmar . In India, commuter rail systems are present in major cities and form an important part of people's daily lives. Mumbai Suburban Railway ,

20862-1017: The number expected to rise even higher upon full completion of the Acharnes Railway Center . Eskişehir-Ankara and Konya-Ankara high speed train routes serve as high speed commuter trains in Turkey. Commuter/suburban trains are usually optimized for maximum passenger volume, in most cases without sacrificing too much comfort and luggage space, though they seldom have all the amenities of long-distance trains. Cars may be single- or double-level , and aim to provide seating for all. Compared to intercity trains, they have less space, fewer amenities and limited baggage areas. Commuter rail trains are usually composed of multiple units , which are self-propelled, bidirectional, articulated passenger rail cars with driving motors on each (or every other) bogie . Depending on local circumstances and tradition they may be powered either by diesel engines located below

21033-503: The number of New York Central employees serving, another read 1,412 for New York, New Haven & Hartford employees, and a third read 104 for Grand Central Terminal employees. In 1918, New York Central proposed expanding Grand Central Terminal. Three tracks would be built on the outside of the suburban level, new platforms would be built, and the ramps to the platforms would be widened. A power plant would also be constructed at 43rd Street. Passenger numbers continued to grow, and by 1927,

21204-538: The old station. A large scaffold, as high and wide as the trusses of the train shed, was erected at the rear of the shed. The scaffold was built on rollers, and as each section was demolished, the scaffold was moved to the next section. The design of the new station was not finalized until 1910 because certain design elements of the new terminal, such as the Main Concourse , were not decided until most of Grand Central Station had been demolished In January 1911,

21375-533: The oldest suburban rail system in Asia, carries more than 7.24 million commuters on a daily basis which constitutes more than half of the total daily passenger capacity of the Indian Railways itself. Kolkata Suburban Railway , one of the largest suburban railway networks in the world, consists of more than 450 stations and carries more than 3.5 million commuters per day. The Chennai Suburban Railway along with

21546-530: The other, the Northern line continues out of the city centre to a mainline rail interchange, while the Wirral line has a city-centre loop. Grand Central Depot Grand Central Terminal is a major commuter rail terminal in Midtown Manhattan , New York City, serving the Metro-North Railroad 's Harlem , Hudson and New Haven Lines . It is the most recent of three functionally similar buildings on

21717-648: The outer reaches of Greater Tokyo through operating into these lines to form a high frequency corridor though central Tokyo. Other commuter rail routes in Japan include: Commuter rail systems have been inaugurated in several cities in China such as Beijing , Shanghai , Zhengzhou , Wuhan , Changsha and the Pearl River Delta . With plans for large systems in northeastern Zhejiang , Jingjinji , and Yangtze River Delta areas. The level of service varies considerably from line to line ranging high to near high speeds. More developed and established lines such as

21888-510: The overall design of the station, while Warren and Wetmore worked on designing the station's Beaux-Arts exterior. Charles Reed was appointed the chief executive for the collaboration between the two firms, and he promptly appointed Alfred T. Fellheimer as head of the combined design team. New York Central submitted its final proposal for the terminal to the New York City Board of Estimate later that year. The proposed station

22059-423: The passenger compartment ( diesel multiple units ) or by electricity picked up from third rails or overhead lines ( electric multiple units ). Multiple units are almost invariably equipped with control cabs at both ends, which is why such units are so frequently used to provide commuter services, due to the associated short turn-around time. Locomotive hauled services are used in some countries or locations. This

22230-446: The platforms on the Hudson Line were 340 feet (100 m)-long with the exception of a 170 feet (52 m)-long side platform at Spuyten Duyvil and a 170 feet (52 m)-long platform at Morris Heights, which was set to be lengthened at a later date. The abandoned station building at University Heights was removed as part of the project. High-level platforms at Spuyten Duyvil and Riverdale were completed in early 1975. On May 2, 1975,

22401-531: The platforms. There were four restaurants, a billiards room, stores, and a police station. Its design was similar to that of other major railroad stations, such as St Pancras station in London and Gare du Nord and Gare de Lyon in Paris. In particular, Snook took inspiration for the train shed's roof from St Pancras and London's Crystal Palace , as well as from the Louvre museum in Paris. The tracks laid to

22572-530: The president of the Hudson River and New York Central railroads in 1867, and merged them into the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad two years later, on November 1, 1869. He then built a connecting line along the Harlem River's northern and eastern bank, running from the Hudson River Railroad in Spuyten Duyvil, Bronx , to the junction with the Harlem Railroad in Mott Haven, Bronx , as part of

22743-550: The project's cost, also objected to the tower's removal because it would deprive the railroad of revenue, and objected to Warren's elaborate design because it would cost more to build than Wilgus's and Reed and Stem's. The New Haven refused to approve the final design until December 1909, when the two railroads and agreed to include foundations to support a future building above Grand Central Terminal. The elevated viaducts were also restored, as were several of Reed and Stem's other design elements, but Warren's elaborate headhouse design

22914-413: The proposal as the plan did not take into account future growth of passenger and freight traffic, and reduced the ability to move around stalled trains. Converting the then-existing four tracks to reversible cab signaling would have cost $ 15 million, which the MTA did not have. On May 23, 2009, a new station was opened at East 153rd Street in the Bronx to serve Yankee Stadium . It sees regular service on

23085-645: The proposed purchase on November 13, 2018, and the purchase was approved by the full board two days later. The deal finally closed in March 2020, with the MTA taking ownership of the terminal and rail lines. The MTA purchased the segment of the Hudson Line from Grand Central to a point 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Poughkeepsie. North of this point, milepost 75.8, the CSX Transportation -owned and Amtrak -operated Hudson Subdivision rail line continues north to Albany. The southernmost 11 miles (18 km) of

23256-399: The railroad could not pay dividends to its stockholders, though this financial deficit was somewhat ameliorated by the end of the decade. When Grand Central Terminal opened, it contained a direct connection to the adjacent IRT subway station . The current 42nd Street Shuttle platforms were part of the original IRT subway , which opened in 1904. The IRT Flushing Line platform, served by

23427-504: The railroad filed 55 blueprints for the new station building with the New York City Department of Buildings , among the most comprehensive sets of plans that had ever been submitted to the department. The last tracks from the former Grand Central Station were decommissioned on June 21, 1912. On December 19, 1910, a gas explosion at an electrical substation near Grand Central killed 10 people and injured 117 more. It

23598-513: The railroad lines leading to Grand Central, as part of the Grand Central improvement. The railroad's board of directors approved the $ 35 million project in June 1903; ultimately, almost all of Wilgus's proposal would be implemented. The entire building was to be torn down in phases and replaced by the current Grand Central Terminal . It was to be the biggest terminal in the world, both in

23769-475: The railroad's southern terminal was moved northward from 14th Street in Union Square to 26th Street near Madison Square . In 1857, the New Haven Railroad built a terminal adjacent to the Harlem Railroad's; their rail lines turned into a rail yard shared by both terminals, which was the beginning of the idea of a central terminal, shared by different rail companies. The building was later converted into

23940-532: The river Storm King Mountain is seen. The Breakneck Ridge flag stop marks the end of the Highlands as the river once again broadens around Newburgh Bay . At Beacon , ferry service is available during peak hours to Newburgh , whose skyline is visible across the river, and shortly after leaving the train passes under the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge . Just upriver is New Hamburg , a hamlet of

24111-474: The river as trains pass through the city of Yonkers and its four stops, mostly local. A few express trains do stop at the recently renovated Yonkers station, the first where a transfer to Amtrak is possible. Smaller, local-only suburban stations are passed as the Tappan Zee Bridge appears to the north and the river widens. Finally, between Irvington and Tarrytown , it passes overhead, as does

24282-488: The same site. The current structure was built by and named for the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad , though it also served the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad . Passenger service has continued under the successors of the New York Central and New Haven railroads. Grand Central Terminal arose from a need to build a central station for three railroads in present-day Midtown Manhattan. In 1871,

24453-469: The segments of the lines into Grand Central were electrified by 1907, full electrification on the remaining parts of these lines was not completed until 1913. Subsequently, as Grand Central Terminal was being completed, all three commuter rail lines moved their operations to Grand Central Palace. Work on the yard progressed slowly, due to the small size of each individual bite, as well as the difficulty of designing two levels with separate track layouts, and

24624-455: The size of the building and in the number of tracks. The Grand Central Terminal project was divided into eight phases, though the construction of the terminal itself comprised only two of these phases. The current building was intended to compete with the now-destroyed Pennsylvania Station , a high-end electric-train hub being built on Manhattan's west side for the arch-rival Pennsylvania Railroad by McKim, Mead & White . Wilgus wanted

24795-668: The soon-to-be-demolished Grand Central Station, to the Harlem Division's Highbridge station in the Bronx, on September 30, 1906. Electrification was eventually extended to Croton–Harmon station , the Hudson Line's northern terminus. By late 1906, Harlem Division trains were also electrified, and its operations moved to the basement of Grand Central Palace; Harlem Line electrification would ultimately stretch as far north as Southeast station . New Haven Division electric trains started running to Grand Central in October 1907. Though

24966-412: The stations, and a yard would have been built. The Draft Environmental Impact Study for the extension, which would have cost $ 3 million, was deemed as necessary as ridership on the northern part of the Hudson Line was growing faster than that of any other part of the system. The Federal Transit Administration provided some funding for the study. The Towns of Stanford, Milan, Red Hook and Rhinebeck and

25137-538: The structure. Its train shed was designed by either Joseph Duclos or R. G. Hatfield, both of whom were employed by the fabricators, the Architectural Iron Works . Although Vanderbilt was inspired by French Classical architecture , Snook's final design was in the Second Empire style . Its design, materials, and convenience rivaled European train stations; it was considered the first in

25308-399: The switches in the yard, New York Central employed several shunting locomotives to shunt empty passenger cars to and from the storage sidings . Grand Central Depot contained three innovative features of note: high-level platforms, level with train cars' floors; a balloon roof for the train shed, enabling a clear span over the tracks; and inspectors who allowed only ticketed passengers on

25479-455: The terminal in sections. The project was to contain three phases or "bites" in total, moving from east to west. As originally planned, the first new bite was supposed to be completed in December 1905, and the last bites would be completed two or three years afterward. Construction on Grand Central Terminal started on June 19, 1903, though official construction plans were not submitted to the city until December 1904. A contract for depressing

25650-507: The terminal saw 43 million annual passengers. Minor improvements were made to Grand Central Terminal during the 1920s and 1930s, such as the 1926 opening of the Graybar Passageway, as well as the 1937 opening of Grand Central's newsreel theater. In 1938, two lower-level platforms were extended to allow commuters to board more easily. By that year, the terminal was regularly accommodating 100,000 passengers and at least 300,000 visitors on an average weekday. The ridership of New York Central as

25821-461: The towns closer to Kowloon. They use rolling stocks with a faster maximum speed and have longer stop spacing compared to other lines which only run in the inner urban area, but in order to maximise capacity and throughput, these rolling stocks have longitudinal seatings, 5 pairs of doors in each carriage with large standing spaces like the urban lines, and run as frequent as well. Most of the sections of these four lines are overground and some sections of

25992-405: The tracks and the station, as well as to nearby buildings. By the late 1920s, the power and heating plant had become largely unnecessary, as most power and heating services were contracted out to Consolidated Edison . The power plant was torn down starting in 1929 and replaced by the Waldorf Astoria New York hotel. A new substation was built 100 feet (30 m) under the Graybar Building at

26163-437: The tracks on Park Avenue south of 57th Street, as well as for excavating the storage yards, was awarded to the O'Rourke Construction Company in August 1903. The following year, New York Central bought two additional blocks of land east of the future terminal, bounded by Lexington Avenue, Depew Place, and 43rd and 45th streets. This land acquisition included the Grand Central Palace Hotel, an exhibition hall that would be used as

26334-494: The train either has a terminal station or passes through the city centre with notably fewer station stops than those of urban rail systems. Toilets are often available on-board trains and in stations. Their ability to coexist with freight or intercity services in the same right-of-way can drastically reduce system construction costs. However, frequently they are built with dedicated tracks within that right-of-way to prevent delays, especially where service densities have converged in

26505-515: The train from either end. The motive power for locomotive-hauled commuter trains may be either electric or diesel–electric , although some countries, such as Germany and some of the former Soviet-bloc countries, also use diesel–hydraulic locomotives. In the US and some other countries, a three-and-two seat plan is used. Middle seats on these trains are often less popular because passengers feel crowded and uncomfortable. In Japan, South Korea and Indonesia, longitudinal (sideways window-lining) seating

26676-450: The trains can be full with commuters standing. The Athens Suburban Railway in Greece consists of five lines, 4 of which are electrified. The Kiato – Piraeus line and the Aigio – Airport lines reach speeds of up to 180 km/h (112 mph). The Athens – Chalcis line is also expected to attain speeds of up to 200 km/h (124 mph) upon upgrading of the SKA–Oinoi railway sector. These lines also have many daily commuters, with

26847-418: The travel time to distant locations, often using station passing loops instead of dedicated express tracks. It is notable that the larger Japanese commuter rail systems are owned and operated by for-profit private railway companies, without public subsidy. East Japan Railway Company operates a large suburban train network in Tokyo with various lines connecting the suburban areas to the city center. While

27018-574: The type of train, amenities offered, and stopping pattern, usually tell the services apart. Russian commuter trains , on the other hand, frequently cover areas larger than Belgium itself, although these are still short distances by Russian standards. They have a different ticketing system from long-distance trains, and in major cities they often operate from a separate section of the train station. Some consider "inter-city" service to be that which operates as an express service between two main city stations, bypassing intermediate stations. However, this term

27189-417: The upper levels. The train shed was a generally cylindrical-shaped glass structure about 530 feet (160 m) long by 200 feet (61 m) wide, with a height of 100 feet (30 m) at the crown. The train shed's roof was composed of thirty-two trusses that arched above the platforms. There were three waiting rooms, one for each of the three railroads, and a metal-and-glass screen with metal doors closed off

27360-505: The vice president of New York Central—to write a fateful letter to Newman. Dated December 22, 1902, it argued that the Park Avenue open cut should be electrified because electric trains were cleaner, faster, and cheaper to repair. Electrification would also remove the issue of smoke and soot exhaust; as such, the open cut could be covered over, and the railroad would benefit from enabling new real estate to be built along sixteen blocks of Park Avenue. The tunnel had to be approved soon because

27531-440: The waterfront. After this railroad became property of the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad, by 1871, the line was extended through the West Bronx, along the Harlem River to connect with the Hudson River Railroad. The segment north of Mott Haven Junction became part of the Hudson Division, while the portion to the south remained part of the Harlem Division. With the opening of the line, most passenger trains were rerouted into

27702-470: The way inter-city rail does. Regional rail operates outside major cities. Unlike Inter-city, it stops at most or all stations between cities. It provides a service between smaller communities along the line that are often byproducts of ribbon developments , and also connects with long-distance services at interchange stations located at junctions, terminals, or larger towns along the line. Alternative names are "local train" or "stopping train". Examples include

27873-437: Was added to the east side of the existing terminal. Designed in the same style as the original station, with a 90-foot-high (27 m) mansard roof , it handled passengers disembarking to New York City, while the original building handled outbound traffic. If the annex had been a standalone station, it would have been the country's fourth-largest at the time, The New York Sun wrote just before it opened. The project included

28044-462: Was always concentrated south of Poughkeepsie: by 1940, only three daily round trips – none of them timed for commuting to New York City – made local stops between Albany and Poughkeepsie. By 1960, only a single daily round trip (timed for commuting to Albany) made local stops. It was cut to a Hudson–Albany round trip with four intermediate stops by 1964, and discontinued around 1965; some intercity trains continued to stop at Rhinecliff and Hudson . At

28215-407: Was described as being largely complete the same year. The section-by-section building process doubled the cost of construction; at first the project was supposed to cost $ 40.7 million, but the cost jumped to $ 59.9 million in 1904 and to $ 71.8 million in 1906. The total cost of improvements, including electrification and the development of Park Avenue, was estimated at $ 180 million in 1910. Of that,

28386-512: Was later discovered that a motorman had accidentally broken a gas storage tank, causing a leak. A jury later declined to find the motorman guilty of wrongdoing. On February 2, 1913, the new terminal was opened. Passengers boarded the first train at one minute past midnight. The opening had been celebrated one day prior with a private dinner for Warren and Wetmore and 100 guests at the Grand Central Terminal Restaurant . Within 16 hours of its opening, an estimated 150,000 people had passed through

28557-471: Was massive, containing two track levels, a large main concourse, a post office, several entrances, and a construction footprint spanning 19 blocks. The design team, called Associated Architects of Grand Central Terminal, had a tense relationship due to constant design disputes. Over Wilgus' objections, Warren and Wetmore removed the 12-story tower and vehicular viaducts that had been part of Reed and Stem's plan. The New Haven Railroad, which bore one-third of

28728-452: Was much criticism of the station's filthiness. In 1899, The New York Times published an editorial that began, "Nothing except the New York City government has been so discreditable to it as its principal railroad station […] at 42nd Street." The architect Samuel Huckel Jr. was commissioned to make further modifications to the terminal's interior. A nearby post office was also proposed to ease mail handling. As train traffic increased in

28899-498: Was reconfigured and a pneumatic switch system was added in an effort to reduce congestion and turn-around time for trains. Finally, the renovation added a new facade in the Neo-Renaissance style, based on plans by railroad architect Bradford Gilbert . The reconstructed building was renamed Grand Central Station . The new waiting room, located between 42nd Street and the concourse, opened in October 1900. By this time, Grand Central had lost its impression of grandeur, and there

29070-452: Was retained. Reed died in 1911; the day after his funeral, Wetmore and New York Central met secretly. The railroad then entered a contract solely with Warren and Wetmore, who took full credit for the station's design. Allen H. Stem of Reed and Stem subsequently sued Warren and Wetmore, which was ordered to pay restitution after a protracted legal battle. Before construction, the architects tested several aspects that were to be included in

29241-417: Was unable to excavate the first bite before the deadline of July 1, 1906. The construction company blamed New York Central for not making tracks available, thereby preventing its trains from hauling out debris, but was loath to hire more workers because it would cost more money. This considerably slowed construction progress. In May 1907, O'Rourke and New York Central terminated their contract. The first bite

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